


Afterspark Podcast: G1 Episode 27: Microbots

by specspectacle, Twilight-Owls (LadyTorix)



Series: Afterspark Podcast: Transformers G1 [28]
Category: The Transformers (Cartoon Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: Don't copy to another site, Embedded Video, Episode Commentary, Episode Review, Podcast, Podfic, Podfic & Podficced Works, Podfic Length: 20-30 Minutes, Swearing, Video, YouTube, transcript
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:08:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22859755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/specspectacle/pseuds/specspectacle, https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyTorix/pseuds/Twilight-Owls
Summary: The Autobots go on a fantastic voyage!  ...Into Megatron!?!
Series: Afterspark Podcast: Transformers G1 [28]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1220114
Kudos: 3





	Afterspark Podcast: G1 Episode 27: Microbots

**Author's Note:**

> If you need an audio only version of the podcast please check out the links at the end of the transcript!

[Stinger]

O: And so the Autobots are like, “AHHHHHHHHHHH!”

[Intro Music]

O: Hello and welcome to the Afterspark Podcast, an episode by episode recap of the Generation 1 Transformers cartoon, I’m Owls!

S: And I'm Specs.

O: Today we're going to be talking about episode number 27, Microbots. Let's talk about giant robots today, shall we?

S: Okay.

O: And now in South America!

S: White people doing white people things, as they do.

O: Digging up pottery. [laughs]

S: And we know they're white people because they're treating it like a game.

O: Also, the male archaeologist says how old an artifact is, immediately after digging it up. Fuck carbon dating, real men can tell just by looking! [laughs]

S: The female scientist hits something strange while digging. Something strange, in very fashionable Decepticon purple.

O: Ohh!

S: Come to think of it her hair is about the right kind of purple too, I'm surprised the Cons didn’t kidnap her as well.

O: [laughs]

S: Or won't.

O: [laughs] Surprise! It's a spaceship.

S: These two archaeologists have unwittingly dug up the original Decepticon ship, the Nemesis.

O: Which you know, on a tangent, kind of got crashed there in Beast Wars. Ahhhh! [laughs]

S: The Decepticons uh, catch this breaking news about this fascinating find.

O: But to the Ark! Guys, guys, it's a Preceptor episode! It is gonna be a good day, he is so cute.

S: He is, we're getting our good Preceptor, proper introduction.

O: Yes, and he deserves one, cuz he is a adorable.

S: Preceptor is attempting to fix a microchip that belongs to Ironhide, um, and he's hurried along by Brawn, who's being a dick.

O: VINDICATION! Heh, Brawn is a jerk, even to his allies!

S: And we quote, “Real work is crushing Decepticons, not fussing with chips.”

O: Perceptor reminds Brawn that they fucking need him, and considering that the Cons try to blow up the planet every other week through some roundabout scientific nonsense- yes, having a scientist on staff is a good idea! [laughs]

S: Especially one who doesn't, you know, blow shit up all the time.

O: Yeah! Wheeljack is a very specialized skill set. [laughs] Preceptor enlarges the microchip to repair it.

S: Chekhov's size changing ray, anyone?

O: Why, yes. Bumblebee, being not a jackass, defends Perceptor as Brawn continues to be well, a jackass. [laughs]

S: I mean, I'd have to wonder how... basically, the team works? But I guess Preceptor is one of the newer people who arrived, so I guess it makes sense that there'd be some tension.

O: Probably, but- but Brawn just seems like a jerk. [laughs]

S: He is, he is. Optimus orders Bee, Brawn, and Ironhide to follow him as they head down to South America to stop the Decepticons from getting into their ship. Cuz the Autobots have also caught the news- the news flash.

O: Obviously, now in South America, the Cons are blowing up lots and lots of trees.

S: It's what they do.

O: Starscream is attacked by an absolutely gigantic snake.

S: It's easily as big around as his arms, man. It's super big!

O: Right! And then we have Ravage frolicking with an actual jaguar.

S: And you know, his method of dealing with it involved shooting a missile at it before easily batting the jag- the jaguar away, and the jaguar’s just like-

O: “What the fuck?” [laughs]

S: “Screw this, I’m out of here!”

O: [laughs] Right?

S: And Starscream is, you know, able to shed the snake.

O: Puns- no, no!

S: Starscream had better be-leaf that Megatron has a plan.

O: No, no, this stops now! Bonecrusher is just trundling along in the back moving some trees in vehicle mode and I just love it. I think my personal headcanon is that the Constructicons are constantly doing their actual jobs while everyone is being morons, and I love it.

S: Considering how many, you know, bases of the week the Decepticons have, yes, they are pretty-

O: Presumably, they're actually pretty good at their job is what I'm gonna go with and I- I don't know I found thought that thought very, very funny. [laughs]

S: Yup, apparently they're doing all of this to try to avoid Autobot detection by staying on the ground. So you know, they can avoid the Sky Spy detection or satellite detection or something.

O: Which makes sense, but eh… regardless, the Autobots have arrived in South America and that's not Ironhide, that’s really not Ironhide?

S: Well, Ratchet’s voice is coming out of his mouth, so we have to assume it's actually Ratchet and they didn’t just you know, miscolor him.

O: Again. The Autobots follow the trail of destruction left by the Cons.

S: Why did Prime bring the medic and two short guys?

O: I think this isn't this is an established pattern at this point. [laughs]

S: Oh, honestly, yeah.

O: Meanwhile, back with the Cons, Scavenger is scanning the ground in vehicle mode while Megatron is walking next to him. It just looks kind of weird, like you know they can turn into vehicle mode but I- I still kind of- like, oh right, Megatron is twice the height of a dump truck, right. [laughs] Like, you kind of forget when you don't have things around it you know, compare it to?

S: Yeah, well, I guess they needed their geologist, and considering the placement of Scavenger’s um, backhoe thing, which apparently his scanner is in in robot mode it makes more sense for him to do it in his alt mode.

O: Fair. They arrive on the dig site, just as the archaeologists were going to try to get into the ship, which is now more unburied than in previous shots.

S: The humans, um, flee, you know, drive off after they encounter some threatening laser fire with- that you know, misses them of course.

O: Megatron says, “Cut it open!”

S: Can't you just find the door?

O: Specs, Specs, he forgot the password, it has been a several million years, hello? [laughs]

S: Couldn’t you just, you know, get your construction crew to take the door off the hinges or something?

O: [laughs]

S: I mean seriously, there are less destructive ways to get into this thing for whatever you want in it.

O: Oh, Spe-

S: What if you destroy the thing that you're going in there for?

O: Oh, Specs, Soundwave didn't plan this out, so therefore it’s nonsensical as hell. [laughs]

S: [sighs] God. And oh look, they blasted into the part of the ship that had exactly what the fuck they wanted.

O: HOW CONVENIENT!

S: I'm surprised I didn't accidentally blow themselves up.

O: The show would be over then what would we do? [laughs]

S: Plot armor.

O: [laughs] Megatron survived a planet exploding, I think he would probably be fine.

S: Maybe not anyone else.

O: Yeah, fair.

S: Megatron wants to play doctor on the ship as he extracts this thing called the ‘Heart of Cybertron.’

O: Apparently, he just wanted to be a medic in every continuity, who knew?

S: Like, I think he borrows a laser scalpel from Hook or something.

O: Yeah, like, he- he doesn't even have like, the innate um-

S: Thingy.

O: -equipment to do it, is what's funny. But he does it, he doesn't blow them up. Which we establish later this thing is explosive.

S: Yeah, cuz apparently this this thing is an energy maximizer, whatever the fuck that means.

O: Yeah, I know, who knows. [laughs]

S: And then Megatron just hands it to Hook and says, “Put it inside me,” and then lays on the ground, where you know-

O: What the fuck? What the fuck? [laughs]

S: It’s an impromptu surgery.

O: [continues laughing]

S: And then Hook just kind of shoves it in there, where his spark chamber would be, I guess? In a later continuity but this is- this is the G1 cartoon, there's no sparks.

O: There's no continuity, but I will remind you we know sparks exist, retroactively by way of Beast Wars. Sorry! Heh, this will be the soapbox I die on, apparently? [laughs]

S: Megatron is super buff now, metaphorically speaking.

O: But then Optimus shows up, and orders [an] attack. [Clears throat] But, uh, wait a minute, so you're telling me that Optimus, Ratchet, Bumblebee, and Brawn are just gonna take on Suped up Megs, Soundwave, Starscream, Ravage, Rumble, and at least some of the Constructicons, if not all six of them and/or possibly Devastator?

S: Optimus has completely confidence.

O: IN WHAT!?!

S: Ratchet being able to out medic the Constructicons, I don't know.

O: I don’t know how that solves Megatron shooting purple force lightning out of his fingertips!

S: Well, I guess Mega- I guess Optimus doesn't know how to deal with it either cuz he takes it straight to the- straight to the chest and he falls off a cliff.

O: [laughs] Of course! And a quick commercial break and Cliffjumper manifests out of nowhere!

S: Well, see, now that they don't have to animate Optimus moving, they have more of a budget to deal with all these other pesky characters. So just pretend they were there all along!

O: Well, speaking of pesky characters- Bluestreak and Ironhide are here now too.

S: And there's-

O: Did I mean Smokescreen?

S: Uh, I honestly don't remember.

O: [laughs] Now- that may have- I may have meant Smokescreen, because for some reason I keep getting the two mixed up when I'm taking notes. So, I do apologize, uh, but two more characters show up is what we're getting at.

S: Yeah, then they're both immediately taken out by Megatron's force lightning because, of course.

O: Of course!

S: And then Brawn.

O: YES! Pay for your sins Brawn, your sins of being a dick to Perceptor!

S: And then Ratchet is hit, and then Huffer shows up, before getting immediately unlucky and he's like, “I hope I'm lucky!”

O: And then he’s not. He’s not. But now,  _ iguana. _

B: [laugh]

S: [sighs] And with that uh, lovely lizardly intermission.

B: [laugh]

S: Smokescreen is trying to rouse Prime.

O: Prime is up, but Windcharger is down. [laughs]

S: Okay, so, um, so is the going rate for Optimi six Autobots or are they all going to go away now that Optimus is up?

O: [still laughing] Who knows? But Optimus apparently knows about the Heart of Cybertron which is the thing that he- that was just shoved into Megs that I have to ask, “How?”

S: Apparently, they just didn't give a damn about finding it before now, or they thought it was maybe in the ocean, though I don't know why they wouldn't have been concerned about that considering…

O: Yeah, cuz they- again, we establish later it is explosive. [laughs]

S: Yes, and also that the Decepticons live in the ocean.

O: Right. Now it is time for a Smokescreen to show us why his name is Smokescreen.

S: As he does. Megatron angrily shoots in random directions while yelling, because he can't see through the smoke that Smokescreen....

O: Has smoked out.

S: Yes.

O: Optimus orders everyone to fire on Megatron.

S: And Hoist is here too.

O: They blast the hill, burying all the Cons under a rock slide. Which no, Soundwave my poor blue son, and Rumble my poor blue garbage baby! [laughs]

S: We also got confirmation Grapple’s here too, as Optimus orders him, Hoist and Ratchet to get the wounded out of there.

O: Back at the Ark, Preceptor meets the wounded Autobots as they arrive at the entrance to the Ark.

S: God, that must have been some commute.

O: Yeah, from South America! Presumably without Skyfire?

S: I guess? I mean, maybe Skyfire just turns up, picks them up and drops them off, who the hell knows?

O: He was on vacation, and you know, they- they had to call him in, who knows?

S: Yeah. And Brawn is continuing his modus operandi for this episode aka,  _ jackassery. _

O: Of course! Wheeljack... was also in the earlier fight as he's now among the wounded, despite us never seeing him.

S: I think I can just assume apparently all the Autobots were there.

O: Right.

S: Getting their asses-

O: Most of them.

S: Getting there butts kicked. I don’t know. Uh, the Cons proceed to unbury themselves and then we’re back at the Ark.

O: Wee! [laughs]

S: Preceptor is uh, also working on a wounded Powerglide.

O: Jesus! I know we said it, but like, there were so many Bots in South America! So many!

S: A good chunk of them.

O: Perceptor puts forth the suggestion that a group of Autobots should shrink themselves in enter Megatron to disconnect the Heart of Cybertron.

S: It's not exactly a bad plan, it's just if they had this before now we didn't they think to use it and they're never gonna-

O: Or some other, yeah… who the fuck knows?

S: And it's never gonna come up again.

O: But Optimus seems game! Brawn is still very unhappy, but Optimus orders Bee and Brawn to accompany Perceptor into Megatron.

S: Preceptor’s so sassy about all this.

O: The sassiest of microscopes. And I know Perceptor said they were going to be ‘microscopic,’ but I swear they're just toy sized.

S: I think you mean ‘fun sized’.

O: Well, obviously I mean fun sized. [laughs]

S: They’d fit quite nicely on your desk.

O: Wouldn’t they though? Powerglide is tasked with getting them near enough to Megatron so they can infiltrate the Decepticon camp. It is time for booze!

S: Or as a fanon and calls it ‘high-grade’. AKA, robot booze.

O: Pretty much, so all the Decepticons get super drunk.

S: And everybody but Megs is passed out on the ground super stone cold drunk.

O: So what you're saying is, he can hold his booze then?

S: I think everyone else is just a really light drinker.

O: [laughs] Mm, mostly Seekers in all fairness.

S: And he passes out immediately afterwards, so no, I don’t think he can hold his booze better than anyone else.

O: [laughs]

S: I think he’s just got a better force of will.

O: [continues laughing] Powerglide makes the drop, and the tiny Autobots scramble out of their container and into Megatron.

S: Megatron wakes up and sees Powerglide and orders an attack. But of course all the other Cons are stumbling around and not able to actually move.

O: Including poor Laserbeak, who nose dives into the ground. Which is sad, but also hilarious.

S: And Megatron just decides that he's gonna deal with all this shit by himself and flies off.

O: [laughs]

S: Gonna be him against all what, two hundred Autobots?

O: Something like that, which maybe with the Heart of Cybertron he’ll be fine? [laughs]

S: Unless he goes boom, but I mean, I don’t think-

O: Boom baby! Boom baby!

S: I don’t think he’s gonna go boom.

O: A planet went boom and he didn't care, why would he care if be exploded?

S: Well, if it's inside him it's going to be more of an issue than if it's outside him. I don't think his armor has that sort of structural integrity.

O: I’m just imagining Megatron staying like, perfectly calm through sheer force the of will.

S: [sighs]

O: Or rage, one of those.

S: I don't think he's internal bits are as-

O: Probably not. [laughing]

S: -hardy as his outer bits, okay?

O: Ah, so, while he’s still- while- he decides to take on all of the Autobots he is still pretty darn drunk, and I just want to know where's my footage of him flying straight into a radio tower or something?

S: [sighs] Meanwhile, inside Megatron, whatever passes for Cybertron white blood cells are trying to rid his body of the um, microorganisms that are being Bee, Brawn, and Perceptor. Or-

O: Brawn- oops, sorry go ahead.

S: Or BBP.

O: [laughs] Brawn, being good at only one thing, which is you know, beating shit up- actually manages to destroy a few of them

S: He just tears them apart... with some oddly well animated movement.

O: Our motley crew continues on their micro excursion arriving at Megatron's shoulder joint.

S: And the- the naturally occurring gears, pulleys, and levers that the Marvel Comics say they evolved from.

O: Obviously. Cutting to Optimus, we are told Megatron's ten minutes out from the Autobot base.

S: Our tiny robots arrive at Megatron's brain module.

O: Why don't they just shoot it?

S: Apparently they just... I don't know, Preceptor and Bumblebee might have moral objections, but I'm not sure why Brawn just didn't do it. It's a bad idea to shoot, you know, your pilot or the brain of the robot you're currently hitching a ride in. You don't want…

O: [sighs] Fair.

S: You're gonna get kind of smooshed.

O: Splatted. [laughs]

S: Anyway, Brawn had the exact same idea.

O: Oh fuck no!

S: I guess he does have some good ideas sometimes but there, um- he's a jackass too.

O: [laughs]

S: Wheeljack tells Optimus, and by Optimus I mean us, that they have a force field up and it will only last five minutes under Megatron's attack so... are they limited by the amount of power that they have access to or just…I don’t know.

O: Um-mm, but we've got a 15 minute buffer, apparently. I don't know why they keep giving us exact times. Megatron arrives, and Optimus rallies all available Autobots to buy Perceptor more time.

S: [sighs] Bee and Perceptor pull Brawn back from Megatron's brain. Perceptor also tells us that the Star of Cybertron is super explosive, so Megatron falling down will be super bad.

O: Right. Megatron has started thinking, as brain impulses are starting to fly around his brain.

S: It's hilarious that Megatron just does a lot of stuff without thinking apparently.

O: Oh, I'm sorry, they’re  _ evil _ impulses, that's important.

S: Yeah, I don't know how they pocess- oh god, do not evil impulses not show up like that?

O: [makes a bunch of confused noises and laughs] I dunno know.

S: Well, um, regardless uh, BBP hitch a ride on one of the impulses to the Heart of Cybertron cuz apparently that's how-

O: You get around a Megatron, mm-hmm.

S: Well apparently that’s how the Cybertronian nervous system works.

O: Apparently! There's some really nice animation in this. Is that why there were so few robots in some of the earlier scenes, you think? [laughs]

S: I guess they spent all their money on the special effects.

O: Perceptor advises caution when they arrive at the Heart of Cybertron otherwise they might set a bust the bomb.

S: You might set off the bomb, um, yeah, um, let's not do that.

O: Outside, Megatron gets through the Autobots forcefield.

S: As in, it shatters like literal glass.

O: Which seems to be a pattern with force fields in the show at this point. Perceptor disconnects the last wires, the three of them grab the star, and book it out of Megatron's body.

S: Mass shifting all the way home.

O: Megatron’s face, when three Autobots climb out of his shoulder are- is pretty fucking great by the way. [laughs]

S: Bumblebee turns around and says, “Excuse us!”

O: Of course! Megatron then calls them ‘retro rats’ and just flies off.

S: Oh no! The star is to destabilizing, or the heart is destabilizing, or whatever the hell it is.

O: [laughs]

S: Because the heart destabilizing, Brawn heaves [it] into space with- I don't know, a massive swing of his short stubby arm or something.

O: [laughs] And Perceptor shoots it, once it’s two thousand miles away, causing Brawn to now be a convert to Perceptorism, as he calls Perceptor his friend.

S: Perceptor just looks happy about this.

O: Which, I mean, fair. [sighs] Uh, join us next time for, “The Master Builder.”

S: Or the Constructicons seduce Grapple and Hoist, with  _ words. _

O: [laughs]

S: Alright, so we have two fic recommendations, one from me and one from Owls. The first one is, “Domestic Electronics,” by Bibliotecaria_D. And it's an IDW G1 AU, very AU.

O: Very!

S: But it- it’s not rated. Generally Gen, there aren’t really any pairings. The main characters are an original human, and then there’s uh, the rest of the cast is effectively original humans or the IDW ensemble.

O: [chuckles]

S: [sighs] And in summary, “Once upon a job in retail, an average Joe took home a returned domestic electronic from the Transformers brand. These are a glimpse into a normal life with tiny electro domestics running rampant through the apartment.” Character or theme or rec is basically, it’s got a bunch of tiny robots.

O: [laughs]

S: The cartoon has a bunch of tiny robots.

O: Yes!

S: Or well, several tiny robots. Just tiny robots.

O: [laughs]

S: At this point I think, “Domestic Electronics,” is complete and that's the note that we have on here because Bibliotecaria_D doesn't seem to be uh, active anymore.

O: But they have the fic marked as complete. It seems like they were kind of periodically adding stuff to it even though? But what's there is still really good, and I do recommend cuz it's very enjoyable to read.

S: Yep.

O: Alright, so my recommendation for today is, “Chronic,” by LittleMissSweetgrass. The continuity is IDW, the rating is T, it is slash it is uh, the pairing is Cosmos/Soundwave. Our characters are Cosmos, Soundwave, Rest-Q, Rumble, Frenzy, Laserbeak, and Buzzsaw.

And in summary, “Everyone had secrets. This was just a fact of life, and ever since the war started secrets became something of a currency something to trade or exchange for more. Secrets are what helped fuel the war and mechs had dedicated their whole lives just to find these hidden treasures. Cosmos’ personal secrets weren't anything that would be considered interesting or sought-after since the war was over. See, Cosmos was a mini bot.”

And then the type is one shot, but it is part of a series. This is actually the second part of this- of uh, one I recommended earlier called, “Quiet.” It it's all part of the- the same series of Soundwave/Cosmos stuff.

S: I’ve read this one, it’s good, I liked it.

O: Ah, yeah, I like their stuff. [laughs]

S: And then I believe we also have art for you to recommend.

O: Yes, our recommendation for today is for Rikuta. They seemed like they were primarily doing Prime. They have a Tumblr, a Pixiv, and the Twitter, at least as of the last time I checked. They have some really cute Prime artwork, in particular I like their Knockout, uh, Breakdown stuff. Today we've linked some artwork of Knockout and Breakdown making flower crowns, a Cyclonus/Tailgate comic, and some Megatron/Optimus art which is- uh, I love all of it. [laughs] But uh, yeah, just, Cyclonus and Tailgate being Cyclonus and Tailgate. And uh, cute Knockout/Breakdown stuff, and uh, Optimus and Megatron from Prime.

S: I’ve seen their art, I liked it.

O: Yeah, I did too.

S: And that just about wraps it up for us today. Remember to check us out on Tumblr and Pillowfort as the Afterspark-Podcast for any additional information, show notes, or links we may have mentioned. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter at AftersparkPod (all one word), and various other locations by searching for Afterspark Podcast, such as AO3, iTunes, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and YouTube, just to name a few. Till next time, I'm Specs.

O: And I’m Owls!

S: Toodles.

[Outro Music]

**Author's Note:**

> **Fanfic Recommendations:**
> 
>   * [Domestic Electronics](https://archiveofourown.org/works/605865/chapters/1092232) by [Bibliotecaria_D](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bibliotecaria_D/pseuds/Bibliotecaria_D)
>   * [Chronic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16863625) by [LittleMissSweetgrass](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleMissSweetgrass/pseuds/LittleMissSweetgrass)
> 

> 
> **Fanartist Recommendation: Rikuta**
> 
>   * [Pixiv](https://www.pixiv.net/en/users/1441403#_=_)
>   * [Tumblr](https://rikuta.tumblr.com/)
>   * [Twitter](https://twitter.com/rikuta_TP)
> 

> 
> **Favorite Art:**
> 
>   * [Come on Orion](https://rikuta.tumblr.com/image/129985080872)
>   * [Knockout and Breakdown Flower Crowns](https://rikuta.tumblr.com/post/124497409682/i-dont-take-the-request-now-but-i-wanted-to-draw)
>   * [Cygate Selfie](https://rikuta.tumblr.com/post/103894131257/60-minutes-tf-drawing-of-twitter-the-theme-was)
> 

> 
> **Where to find us:**
> 
>   * [Anchor](https://anchor.fm/aftersparkpodcast)
>   * [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/AftersparkPod)
>   * [Google Play](https://play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/Imo2wtgyxc6dc5ayfomcavnitaa)
>   * [iTunes](https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/afterspark-podcast/id1452120342)
>   * [Pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.io/Afterspark-Podcast)
>   * [Stitcher](https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/afterspark-podcast?refid=stpr#_=_)
>   * [Twitter](https://twitter.com/@AftersparkPod)
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> 

> 
> You can also find us on our personal Tumblrs [@twilight-owl](http://twilight-owl.tumblr.com/) and [@specspectacle](http://specspectacle.tumblr.com/)!


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